First steps to freedom

Press, 12 September 1981, Page 17

First steps to freedom

Liberty and Love: English Literature and Society, 1640-1688. By Peter Malekin. Hutchinson, 1981. 219 pp. Index. $16.75 (paperback). (Reviewed by Glyn Strange) In this short study, Peter Malekin traces similar developments in the State and the family, with special reference to the problem of women's status in the seventeenth century. As England softened the autocratic tendencies of its sovereigns into constitutional monarchy by the end of the Restoration, so the pervasive powers of fathers and husbands were called in question by and on behalf of women as the period went on. England did not become a democracy. nor were women emancipated, but minor advances on the road to each destination were takbn. Traditional attitudes to women are seen in “Paradise Lost” (of all places): the predominant types are foolish Eve and treacherous Sin, whereas Restoration drama has heroines as clever as (and often more sensible than) their male counterparts — Congreve's Millamant, for example. This seems a remarkable revolution in so short a time, but Malekin is careful to add that in reality women did not gain so much prestige. Their main gains included some say in the choice of husbands and a degree of freedom from paternal vigilance in the booming fashionable life of London and Bath. Neither financial nor intellectual independence was even on the horizon. What Restoration drama strikingly expresses is a new confidence, particularly among the young, to question old attitudes. The constitution, once thought to be God-given and immutable, had been subject to changes, giving rise to a sense that institutions could be altered to suit human needs. If the sovereign power could be modified, why not that of fathers and husbands? Indeed, reform in one area could well have implied the need

for reform in the other, because the State was traditionally seen as an extended family, while the family was seen as a State-in-little. Such a summary necessarily oversimplifies, and fails to do justice to the skill with which Malekin traces developments through the philosophy and literature of the period. Wisely, he avoids urging too strongly the links between reform of the constitution and changes in family life. Instead he discusses political issues first, then leaves the other as an almost tacit comment upon them. The reader is not forced to agree, but stimulated to further questioning. The author writes for “the energetic and intelligent general rather than specialist reader,” and addresses many topics that are still important to us. Particularly delightful are his quietly satirical asides in which he reminds us how far — or how little — we have progressed in three centuries. For example, his Comment on the public floggings of known whores: “If the same standard were applied today, half the population would be without skin to their backs." But the main issues — civil liberty and female status — are still crucial, and the spirit of moderation, which Malekin stresses as one of the greatest legacies of the seventeenth century, may still serve as a guide through both. The past is not dead,, nor will the future be while we can learn from the past. Only one thing disappoints. Mention is made of “a string of pro-feminist and anti-feminist books and pamphlets" in mid-century and of Aphra Behn, “a distinguished poet, novelist and playwright in her own right,” but no further information is given. In a book so concerned with woman's status, surely a chapter on women writers and women's views would have been appropriate.